Whatever Happened to The Class of 2005?

She said that she didn't let her social life distract her from her classes at UMES -- "I'm what they call a good girl" -- but that she still couldn't keep up. Her GPA fell below 2.0 and she was put on probation. Now she is stocking shelves at a department store and taking a few courses at UDC.

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When she had to leave UMES, "I took it kind of hard," she said. She was upset about the prospect of letting down her friends and especially her family.

"My father thinks I should have done a whole lot better," Chappell said.

A 'Nerd' If You Achieve

When Ayana Butler arrived at Cardozo, she was shocked by the poor condition of the building, the one working bathroom for girls and the profanity and slang used by her peers. "I would ask someone, 'Huh -- what does that mean?' They would look at me like: 'Where is she from?' "

Butler's family had just moved back to the District from Newport News, Va., where she had been on the honor roll often and was surrounded by friends who excelled in school.

At Cardozo, her English lessons focused on "Romeo and Juliet" and the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Maya Angelou -- all of which she had studied in the seventh grade.

Angry that she had been forced to leave her friends behind and bored with the curriculum, Butler said she slacked off. She found it easier to blend in with the other students than to stick out for achieving. She remembers thinking: " 'I should ace this -- it's easy.' But the rebellious side took over," she said.

Butler failed several classes and was told to repeat the ninth grade. That woke her up and she improved her grades for a time, but then started hanging with a rowdy crowd.

O'Leary, her Advanced Placement English teacher, reached out to her. "He said, 'Is there something going on at home -- do you need guidance?' " she said. "'You are a good student.'"

She rebuffed his efforts, and in the middle of the 11th grade she dropped out so she could work full-time. "I thought I was too cool for school -- there was money to be made," she said.

But when she applied for jobs at Pepco and at animal clinics, she was told she needed a high school diploma. The only jobs she could get were at McDonald's and Wendy's.

Butler, 20, said she is trying to get her life back on track. After giving birth to twin girls last year, she enrolled this spring at Everest College, a trade school in Arlington where she is studying criminal justice. She plans to take the GED test next year.